Armor: December 1, 1999

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The two brigades at Fort Lewis (Washington state) will be converted into Medium Brigade using borrowed or leased LAVs and other vehicles. By mid-2000, the Army will have decided on which new wheeled vehicle to use. This is likely to be the LAV, an eight-wheeled armored car used by the Marines. Once this decision is made, the new wheeled armored combat vehicles will be ordered and issued to the two Fort Lewis brigades (3rd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division, 1st Brigade of the 25th Light Infantry Division) to complete their conversion. Then, as more wheeled combat vehicles are obtained, these will be issued to other brigades. It remains unclear which brigades will be converted first and how many brigades will be converted.--Stephen V Cole